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Standard Aluminum MacBook or upgraded White?

J

justin042

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 8, 2009
8
0
Missouri
Okay, so I have some money saved and am going to purchase a 13.3" MacBook - no Air, no Pro. I have just enough money to purchase either the a) standard "low-end" 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, and 160 GB hard drive aluminum MacBook or b) the white polycarbonate MacBook upgraded to 4 GB RAM and 320 GB hard drive. Any advice on which one would be wiser to purchase?

P.S. The only thing I'm going to need my MacBook for are basic web browsing, e-mail, a CD-ROM game or two, maybe download an app or two, and iTunes for downloading music (I download a lot of music.) I'm also a big multi-taker - having various tabs opened at a time online, while downloading a song off of iTunes. Also, I do not have enough cash to upgrade the memory or hard drive on the aluminum MacBook.

Thanks.
 
Refurb Aluminum. Get the extra RAM and have it be good savings. Don't get a whitebook, I saw their screens this morning, total rubish compared to the aluminiums(which where total rubish compared to the macbook pros:p). The lighter weight, better screen, and better materials is vastly superior to the whitebook. Good luck with whatever choice you make!
SG :apple:
 
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Aren't the notebooks going to be updated soon?

Just wait and you can save a few dollars for upgrades.
 
A lot of people here like the whitebook because it is very nearly as powerful as the UMB for almost the same price, but if you can afford it, I feel as though the UMB's improvments are worth it. I've gotthis feeling that it will go down as one of apples best designed laptops ever.
 
The new MacBook is leaps and bounds ahead of the white MacBook.

Take it from someone who's bought 4 since 2006 :) The built quality is way superior (no "Crackbook" issues), it's lighter, it's got multitouch, LED, ddr3 ram... go Alu, especially if you're going to be usng it on the go a lot.
 
I am looking for a new MacBook as well but I just can't get over how much the new Unibody looks so much better than the whitebook. I will at least be getting the 2.4 refurb though as I for some reason think if I dont get the backlit keyboard then I will have less of a computer (weird I know.....)
 
I would get the Aluminum Macbook and upgrade the memory later - it is cheap, and it would be easy to save for. 2GB should be fine to start with...

Same for the hard drive, as long as you can get by the the 160GB that comes with the Macbook, I would get a bigger drive later...

I have worked with both units, and the Aluminum Macbook is a much nicer machine. The only reason not to get one in my mind, is to save some money...
 
Don't buy the white MacBook. I've had mine for almost a couple of years now, and the edges are still breaking off. It's a cheap plastic piece of junk. The new aluminum MacBooks are what the originals SHOULD have been.
 
Hemingray said:
Don't buy the white MacBook. I've had mine for almost a couple of years now, and the edges are still breaking off. It's a cheap plastic piece of junk. The new aluminum MacBooks are what the originals SHOULD have been.
Click to expand...

... and I've had mine for a year now and it has NO CRACKS WHATSOEVER and NO SIGNS of any such issue. This problem is supposed to be remedied now (I doubt that it totally is, though - I'm sure someone will still have issues...). It all depends on your priorities - new and shiny vs. $200+ in your pocket. You make the call.

My money would go for the $849 refurb nVidia white Macbook. Then all you need is a $40 memory upgrade to 4GB and whatever size/speed hard drive you want.
 
Buy the aluminum, you can always upgrade the hd nd ram later, thats what i am doing next month i am getting a 2.4 UMB and buying a 500gb hd and 4gb ram from newagg.
 
I had the opportunity to compare a white MacBook and aluminum MacBook side by side in Best Buy a little over a week ago, and I was disappointed that at maximum brightness I couldn't tell a different in brightness between the two screens. I was hoping the LED backlighting would make the screens easier to see in a well-lit office environment, but now I doubt it.
 
js81 said:
... and I've had mine for a year now and it has NO CRACKS WHATSOEVER and NO SIGNS of any such issue. This problem is supposed to be remedied now (I doubt that it totally is, though - I'm sure someone will still have issues...). It all depends on your priorities - new and shiny vs. $200+ in your pocket. You make the call.

My money would go for the $849 refurb nVidia white Macbook. Then all you need is a $40 memory upgrade to 4GB and whatever size/speed hard drive you want.
Click to expand...

Wait another year. ;) But seriously, I hope they have fixed it, because the 4 white/black MacBooks that belong to friends, family and work I've administered over the past couple of years all exhibited the cracking and splitting plastic.

I figured Apple is selling off the old design for cheap because they know they have a design flaw on their hands and they want to get rid of them. Maybe I'm wrong (I hope I am). But I've learned my lesson... I won't be buying a Rev A Mac ever again. (And to think I said that back after I got stuck with the Yikes G4 in 1999... my own fault!)
 
I say go for the aluminum - and get it refurbished. Then you will have money to upgrade the RAM like everyone is talking about later. Mine should be hear tomorrow.
 
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